Destinies Entwined
by Miss-Hermione-Granger91
Summary: What was Rose doing while Donna travelled with the Doctor? And what were his true thoughts and feelings? May turn AU, this is the true story of how two soulmates are reunited. Rated M just in case, this may change.
1. Partners In Crime

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even (sadly) the gorgeous David Tennant

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even (sadly) the gorgeous David Tennant!!

--

"What do you MEAN you can't find them? I'm telling you, I specifically put them in a bin, and told some woman to give them to you." Donna Noble shrieked into her mobile. "Well, no…but…ok maybe leaving your car keys with a complete stranger wasn't the best thing to do, but I was in a rush and she... had a nice, honest face!"

The Doctor overheard this last statement as he entered the control room and rolled his eyes.

"Donna, if you're going to travel time and space with the attitude that everyone with a 'nice, honest face' can be trusted, you'll be atoms in minutes."

Donna waved her hand at him to tell him to be quiet, and carried on arguing with her mother.

"I dunno! Blonde. Short. Blue coat. Kinda like…not like the blue of my top that goes with the white jeans, more the blue that…hello? HELLO?"

Turning to the Doctor, she wore a bewildered expression.

"She hung up on me! It's not MY fault someone's run off with her car keys is it? Well," she admitted as the Doctor raised a single eyebrow, "Maybe it is. But it's not like I didn't try and tell her where the bin was!! And anyway _her_ keys shouldn't be _my_ responsibility…"

She continued twittering away in the background, as the Doctor lost concentration and tuned her words out – a skill he had already mastered despite having only met her twice. He watched her spin around the control room, hands moving as she talked, her red hair burning like a sun, full of life and hope and energy. He liked her. He'd liked her the first time she'd turned up in his TARDIS, just after…

"NO". His mind screamed at him, and immediately a wall went up and he carried on focusing on Donna. He liked her, but he was worried. After all of the danger and drama that accompanied Martha, was it wise to be bringing another companion into his life? Yes, he was lonely. But was it selfish to bring Donna into his world knowing what the risks were? And he, of all people, understood the risks, especially after what had happened to Rose…

"NO!" His mind demanded again, but it was too late. He'd thought of her name and was instantly drowning in memories. Rose swinging on that rope, how she'd looked in _that dress_ in 1869, dancing with her in World War Two, the crazy cat nuns, werewolves, when she'd grabbed that axe, those final, beautiful moments on the beach…in a heartbeat he was flooded with the sound of her voice, her laughter, the way the sun glinted on her hair, her obsession with chips, the way her tongue would poke from between her teeth when she was amused, the feel of her hand in his…

"Doctor?"

Donna's voice bolted him back to the present, and he looked up into a face etched with concern.

"You all right? Not gonna have a nervous breakdown on me are you?" Satisfied he was back to normal, and without waiting for a reply she sauntered out of the control room, shouting back at him;

"Come on then! Help me find my bedroom!"

With a deep breath, the Doctor got to his feet, trying to get his emotions back in check. They came upon him suddenly, these moments, and even after the months Rose had been gone, were still as powerful as a tidal wave against a wooden barrier. And anything could trigger them off, a word, a memory, a similar gesture…it had been one of the things he had found hard about living with Martha; her crush on him had been obvious for all to see, and her constant need to touch him, to laugh too loudly with him, to try and make him see how fun she was, only served to remind him of Rose. It was one of the reasons he liked Donna so much: after her earlier outburst, he didn't think there was any risk of her fancying him, and a friend – and only a friend – could be what he needed right now. He started to make his way out of the control room, and paused just before he entered the hallway.

"Keep her safe." He pleaded out loud to whatever gods currently felt pity for rebellious Time Lords. "Keep her safe for me – and make her happy."

A/N: Well? Hope you likey. More soon if people like it, (obviously if everyone thinks its rubbish I won't bother!) Please please review if you read as I love to know what readers think!!


	2. And His Plus One

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, I wouldn't need to write fanfic to rectify the owners mistakes would I?

--

Blissful, peaceful silence that only very early morning could bring. The room was dark, quiet and calm. Suddenly, the numbers on the clocks digital display flipped from 5:29 to 5:30.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE- THUNK.

Rose Tyler groaned as she waved her arm around to try and silence this monster that wouldn't stop screaming at her. When she finally hit something and the noise stopped, she immediately dived back under her duvet at hopes of catching 5 more minutes sleep before…

"Rooooseeee you're gonna be late!!"

Groaning, she dragged herself into a sitting position and attempted to keep her eyes open. Not much luck. These 12 hour workdays were really taking their toll on her. She knew she should request less cases, get some sleep, but at least when she was working, mind – numbing as it was, she could distract herself from thoughts of… "STOP IT." She ordered herself, and shook her head hard to remove her thoughts as she stumbled out of bed.

A quick shower later and she was rushing down the stairs, giving a quick kiss to Mum, Dad and baby Billie, declining her mothers happy offer of breakfast (ugh, why were they all so CHEERY at this hour??) and rushing out into the semi – darkness. Only when she had reached the bus stop did she slow down and let herself breathe. Collapsing on a bench, she pulled her coat tighter around herself as she tried to mentally prepare for the day ahead, not that it took much. As the youngest recruit in a parallel Torchwood, Rose had initially been assigned to the fascinating tasks of tea making, sorting paperwork, and arranging meetings. However, during a case which required precise knowledge of an ancient family from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius, she had come into her own and been able to add key information about a family who went by the name of Slitheen. Impressed by her knowledge she had been promoted, and now handled cases other employees had no knowledge of or experience in facing, in addition to her previous duties. Basically, she spent her time researching and compiling files of extensive notes on the best ways to identify, capture, negotiate with and locate a variety of aliens. And she was bored to tears. Not least because the job required her to be stuck in her 8 x 10 office from 6 till 6 five days of the week – and that was without overtime. Staring at her (highly advanced) computer screen had got old pretty quickly, but when she had suggested a job which required a little more brainpower (for example actually going into the field and actively researching these aliens as opposed to simply reading endless statistics about them,) she was laughed out of the office and told that as the youngest, newest member, she had to 'pay her dues.'

"Make me sound like I work at a bloody newspaper." She muttered, as she boarded the bus and flashed her employee card at the sleepy driver (this meant Torchwood would simply pick up the cost of her fare.) Choosing a seat near the back, she rested her head on the window and let her mind wander. Rose had never been one to sit still in an office all day – even as a kid she had been happier running around the estate learning new things than sat at home watching TV, and she was a teacher's nightmare when it came to fidgeting. PE, where she was able to move around and learn, had been the only subject to keep her attention for over a nanosecond, and even then she'd quickly got bored of constantly standing around while the teacher explained something. She had left school to get away from that hemmed in, tied sown experience, only to find that working in Henriks Department Store was exactly the same, but with longer hours and bitchier people. The only time she had been truly happy, truly excited to get out of bed every morning, had been when every single day – every single _moment _– was filled with something new and completely different to look at and learn about and explore, and that, of course, had been when…

"For gods sake!" Rose reprimanded herself for almost losing control of her thoughts again. The dark haired woman in the seat across the aisle gave her a strange look, and Rose smiled weakly at her. Carefully controlling the images in her mind, she sighed as she remembered thinking her days of getting up, catching the bus, going to work, eating chips – despite herself, she felt a twinge and fought to control it - coming home and going to bed were over. The monotonous, identical routine her life now followed day after day was a living hell. She had thought that by getting a job at Torchwood she would at least be able to make use of things she knew, and would be able to learn more new things. But her achievements there so far had meant she was just learning exactly how the guys in Development liked their tea, which workers wanted coffee, and just how hard it was to arrange meetings with certain people. She spent the rest of the time reviewing things she already knew time and time again, without any new information. Starved for knowledge, Rose had even taken to reading the memos and discarded information that was bought to her office for her to dispose of. Ok, maybe she didn't care that Number Y.72.D3A had received confirmation that they could take a holiday, and it didn't bother her that C.00.P3R had discovered a 'trans – dimensional flux.' What did interest her was things like the news which had come in yesterday of a species called the Adipose, news telling Torchwood the case had been resolved. She didn't really care about the details of it being resolved, but she had already decided that when her life became unbearably slow today, she would research the creatures and try to learn something. It was a small thing, but it would stop her going totally crazy.

"Stir – fry crazy," she smiled to herself, remembering when she had been addicted to the phrase to the point of annoyance after visiting China in 1760…

"DAMN."

She banged her head against the window, drawing more concerned looks from the woman across the aisle as she realised she'd broken one of her own rules. She'd let herself remember. And that was bad, because when she started to remember events like that, she also started remembering the twinkle of a pair of brown eyes, a fantastic, infectious laugh, the joy of learning brand new things every single day, a voice she could listen to forever, and the belief that you should never say "Never ever…"

Rose sighed as she buried her head in her hands and bit her lip hard to stop the tears from falling. She'd been here for about 8 months – though she couldn't be sure as time seemed slightly different to what she was used to - but the memories still fought through like a flood wave when she was least expecting them, and they still made her feel like her world had come screeching to a halt and her heart was being shattered into a billion shards every single goddamn time. She concentrated on breathing, and slowly sat back up as she tried to lock away her feelings again. Turning her mind to the day ahead helped force other things to the back of her mind, where she put them in boxes and hid them away. The bus jolted to a halt and she managed to regain her composure as she disembarked.

"Another day of fun filled crap." She predicted correctly as stood in front of the Torchwood building. "I'm getting really sick of this déjà vu." Sighing, she buzzed herself into the building, and was instantly caught up in a whirlwind of motion and words, which seemed juxtaposed to the sleeping, grey world she had just left behind. Her ears pricked up as someone walked past talking about a "shift change", but her hopes faded when she then heard the word "cancelled." Rose lived for shift changes. At certain times, Torchwood was able to open the rift in time and space, and send someone to the other world. This could be for any purpose, from gathering data to simply testing the method. Rose wasn't sure how it worked and frankly, she didn't care. All she knew was that when she stood in that dome, they did something which meant she could go to the other world – the world where her Doctor still lived and breathed and visited. Her willingness to work so many hours and her status – however lowly - of 'researcher' had made her something of a favourite with the team in charge of shift changes – and it didn't hurt that Jeff, the head engineer, had a thing for Rose. She'd been to the other world just yesterday in fact, but her search had yielded nothing more than some bonkers redhead telling Rose she was putting her mothers keys in a bin. Rose thought that was a bit harsh; after all, she and Jackie fought all the time, but Rose wouldn't throw her keys away because of it. The trouble was, just when she thought she was starting to get somewhere, time was up and she was pulled back. This left her barely any time to search…

"Research." Rose corrected herself automatically. But no matter how many times she crossed over in the name of 'research', no matter how much she told herself she genuinely was going to find out more about aliens, about her job, she knew in her heart what she was looking for every time she set foot in the real world.

Him.

It hit her with the force of a hurricane. A wave of emotion smashed into her like a brick wall, and she was forced to dash, hand over her face, to the nearest toilets. They were empty at this time – most people didn't start until 7am – and she locked herself away and sobbed her heart out. There was no point trying to stop herself. The moment the Doctors face started grinning away in her mind, someone had twisted the vice her heart was trapped in. She'd been so good, with no direct thoughts or feelings about any of it for almost a week, but in a single second with a single thought her defences had been ripped apart, leaving her heart vulnerable, and every inch of the raw pain that accompanied memories of her Doctor was attacking her without mercy. Rose cried until her head was pounding like waves on a shore and she could cry no more. She stood up shakily, and tried to compose herself before stepping in front of the mirror. It was going to be a long day.

A/N: Hope you liked it, hopefully the action should pick up from now. Please review so I know whether anyone likes it lol!!


	3. Words of Wisdom

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own anything!

"Ancient Rome!" The Doctor proclaimed proudly to Donna as he opened the doors of the TARDIS on a busy marketplace. She followed in awe, gazing around her. Everywhere, there was colour and life, people moving as she looked down the long, narrow street they were in. Unable to help herself, she flung her arms round the Doctor, who hugged her back. He was pleased by her enthusiasm, which was contagious. Moments like this reminded him what he travelled for, seeing new places but also to see the look on his companions face when they saw something they had never dreamt of. Donna was babbling to herself and he couldn't help but grin at her.

"You like it then?" He questioned. "People always seem interested in the past. I remember the first time I took Ro…a friend to Victorian London, she had such a look of wonder on her face…" his voice trailed off and he looked at the floor. Donna was intrigued. 'Ro' was surely the Rose she had heard so much about, yet at the same time the Doctor had barely mentioned. He had said she was 'lost'. But what was lost? Missing on some planet? Dead? Or had she simply gone back home. Donna sensed that now was not the time to raise the issue, and changed the subject.

"That signs in English!" she announced sceptically. "You didn't really just land us back in London did you?"

The Doctor looked at the sign and laughed.

"No Donna, don't worry. That's the TARDIS. It gets in your head, helps you understand alien languages. You can speak them too. In fact, right now you're speaking in Latin."

Donnas face lit up.

"No way!!" she breathed. "Hang on, I just said 'no way' in Latin!!"

The Doctor nodded and smiled at her as she ran up to a street vendor and started actually speaking to him in Latin. Despite himself, he found his thoughts turning again to…her. It hurt a bit less if he didn't actually think about her name. His smile slipped slightly. He remembered his old self telling her that the TARDIS was inside her head, and she'd gone ballistic. She was feisty, headstrong and downright stroppy, and that was one of the qualities that made her irresistible. "Oh my Rose. Why did they have to take you?" He muttered to himself. Immediately, he tried to turn his thoughts away from her, before he did something embarrassing like smashing up the street in his rage, or curling up on the floor and sobbing until he died, both of which were major possibilities at the moment. Catching up with Donna, he gently explained to her that the vendor didn't actually understand a word she was saying, because thought she was Welsh. He let her indignant response fill his entire mind, so anything else was squashed to the background.

Neither of them saw the robe – clad woman on the wall behind them, and neither saw the sign her body was covering.

It read Bad Wolf.

--

"Morning Miss Tyler," A rich voice which was overflowing with charm and completely devoid of sincerity floated in her door. Rose didn't even bother to look up from her screen.

"Charmaine." she answered shortly, her typing growing faster. She hoped the snobby cow would take the hint and _leave._

"Heard you went on a shift change yesterday?"

Damn. Now she was actually _in_ the office.

"Yes." Rose barely moved her lips as her typing took on a furious pace.

"Shame you won't be able to do that so much soon." Now she had Roses' attention.

"What?" They couldn't take away shift changes, her life depended on them. She looked up into a face painted with inch thick foundation, and gagged on the smell of stale cigarettes as Charmaine brought her face closer and began to talk again.

"Oh, didn't you know? Well, I guess they wouldn't tell the less senior members of the team. Best I don't say anything…" She sailed out of the room before Rose had a chance to grab her by her expertly styled hair, drag her back and demand she tell her exactly what was going on. As it was, she settled for hurling a paperweight at the door before sitting back in her chair. What exactly was that girl's problem? Well, she knew really in her heart. It was Mickey and Jeff. Charmaine seriously had the hots for both of them, but Mickey had told Rose he'd rather sleep with the fake Margret Blaine and take a Dalek to dinner than start seeing Charmaine Parker, and Jeff just didn't seem interested…in her. He had his eye on a certain young blonde Londoner with a ton of attitude and an aversion to high heels. The trouble was, Rose so wasn't falling for it. Despite Jeffs dark hair, reasonable intelligence and witty charm, she couldn't summon up enough interest or energy to fancy him.

"Just face it love, you're going to end up a sad, lonely old spinster 'cos no-ones going to compare are they?"

Rose heard a chuckle at the door and looked up to see Jake standing there.

"Sorry, didn't realise that was out loud." she laughed as he crossed the room and sat down. Jake had had a thing for her to start with, but she suspected Mickey had had a chat with him because he never made a move.

"You know, when you start talking to yourself, it's the first sign of madness." Jake commented casually as he leaned back.

"My sanity's the least important thing they'd have taken from me." She muttered quietly enough that he couldn't hear. She had been thinking lately that it would actually be quite nice to go mad. To just forget everything, or think it was a dream, and not have to be bored or feel anymore. Just sit there in your own bonkers world of make believe. Maybe there things wouldn't hurt.

"Oh my Rose. Why did they have to take you?"

Her head jerked upright. She knew that voice. She knew that voice better than her own. It made everything alright again, and she was willing to believe anything it said. But it was also completely impossible for that voice to be here unless she had fulfilled her own dream and gone stark raving mad. She looked cautiously around her office, not daring to believe the impossible might be true. But except for Jake and herself, no – one was there.

"Did you just say something?" Rose asked him, but he shook his head and said something about getting back to work. Rose barely registered him leaving. What the hell had just happened? She'd heard that voice, clear as a bell. Straining her mind, she half hoped to hear it again, and half dreaded it because of what it might mean. She felt…different. Warm, and there was a strange singing in her ears. She had the strangest feeling that if she just reached out in her mind, that maybe she'd find… Suddenly, a crash from outside snapped her out of her thoughts, and the connection was broken. Shaking her head in disbelief at her own stupidity, Rose turned back to her screen and went back to reading about little balls of living fat.

The Doctor was not happy. And that was putting it mildly. First he'd ended up at the foot of Mount Vesuvius the day before volcano day, then some idiot had sold his TARDIS as a work of 'modern art' – doubly ridiculous if you took into the account it was over 900 years old - and now Donna had decided it would be a good time for a row. He just didn't know how to explain it to her. How was he supposed to explain that all he wanted was to save everyone, not just in Pompeii but all the time? How could he tell her that all he wanted was to go back to his own planet and save everyone from the war? And couldn't she see that the dearest wish in the depths of his hearts were to go back and save his Rose? But you couldn't do it. You couldn't alter history; it tore at the fabrics of reality itself. Some people just couldn't be saved. He was just about to argue a bit more when a man entered – Lucius something or other. The Doctor wasn't particularly interested in a man whose name translated to the Devil, but the family seemed in awe of him, and it was an excuse to stop listening to Donna.

Donna was halfway through her rant when the Doctor turned away from her and began listening to the man who had just entered.

"Oy!" She hissed at him, but he was getting good at ignoring her. Crossing her arms, she tried to listen to the conversation, but ended up tuning the newcomers speech out after a few seconds of chatter about birds flying north and grains of wheat. It wasn't until she heard the Doctor responding to him that she started paying attention, and she had to admit: the Doctor gave as good as he got. True, she herself didn't really have a clue what he was going on about, but the other man seemed impressed enough. Staring idly at the side of the Doctors head, she was halfway through wondering what kind of hair gel he used when she became aware that the Doctor was trying to drag her back to the TARDIS.

"I'm not going!" She resisted, but he was stronger than her. She raised her voice "Doctor! I'm not going! List-"

He had stopped, but not because of her words. Intent on the stone carving which had just been unveiled, he released her, and she followed out of instinct. A strange pattern, looking almost like a circuit, was engraved on the stone before them. The man who spoke in riddles was speaking again.

"From the rain and mist and wind." He responded to the Doctor.

Donna snorted. "You're telling me you just dreamt that up?" Maybe the Doctor was right, and they should leave, 'cos this man was sounding less sane by the minute. She assumed he must be someone important, the mayor, or a MP or something…

"You'll have to excuse my friend, she's from…Barcelona." The Doctor apologised, pulling Donna to one side. Even as he did so, a million images flashed through his mind in a split second.

"_But, before I go…"_

"_Don't say that!"_

"_Rose- Before I go I wanna tell you you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!"_

_His hearts clenched as he remembered the small smile on her tearstained face, and the shock and disbelief which followed._

"_Hello right…new teeth. That's weird. Now where was I? Oh that's right! Barcelona!"_

Closing his mind to ignore the memories and avoid the pain he felt building, he explained to Donna who the man was: a fortune teller, a Seer. Donna looked sceptical.

"Doctor, he thinks he dreams up blocks of stone. Face it; he's barmy." she informed him in her blunt, forthright way.

"No, Donna, in today's society-"

He was suddenly interrupted by a girl walking towards them. She was young, and looked frail and unwell.

"They mock us." Her voice was weak and far away, but she possessed a certain energy that was impossible to ignore. Her mother hurried over to her, and began apologising and leading her away, as one might do to a drunk. Donna turned her head; unsure of where to look, but a remark from the male Seer caught her attention.

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the men folk have the capacity for true perception."

Donna's mouth dropped open at the chauvinism of his statement.

"I'll tell you where the winds blowing right now mate." She muttered quietly. The Doctor tried to hide a smile; the honesty and fire of that statement reminding him of another certain young woman. He had more pressing concerns though.

"Consuming the vapours?"

"They give me strength." Donna looked incredulous; the girl could barely stand upright unaided, let alone looking strong The Doctor agreed with her, voicing his opinion. The next words stopped them both in their tracks.

"Is that your opinion…as a Doctor? Doctor, that's your name."

Donna, staring at the Doctor in shock, almost missed her next words.

"And you, you call yourself Noble. You come, from so far away."

The Lucuis snorted. "Womens' prophecies tend to be vague and worthless. They are inclined to invent events."

The Doctor shook his head, his attention still focused on the girl – Evelina, her mother had called her. Light, or life, depending on the language you took it from.

"No not this time old Lucy." he sounded almost amused. "She's spot on."

"Is that so? Man from Gallifrey." The words were almost spat out by the man, the name sounding hard and unwelcoming. Both the Doctor and Donnas heads snapped to their left.

"What?" There was no trace of laughter in the Doctors voice now.

"Your home is lost in fire, is it not?" His voice continued, as he approached the Doctor.

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna asked, instinctively looking to him for protection. At her words, Lucius turned his attention to her.

"And you. Daughter of London."

Spooked, Donna choked out; "How does he know that?"

"It is the gift of Pompeii." The mans voice had risen, so he could be heard above the wind which had suddenly filled the room. His words came faster now, and sounded more eerie. "Every single oracle speaks the truth."

"That's impossible." Donna managed to retort. The man looked at her scornfully.

"It is as true as the fact that a red sky at night shall bring a sheppard delight. The red sky in the morning should be the sheppards warning. But now, the time has come for the sheppard to watch her flock, as the big, bad wolf approaches. "

At these last words, the Doctors head whipped round, and he stared at the man before him. Big. Bad. Wolf. It couldn't be. It was impossible, a coincidence. Before he could question it, Lucius had turned to him.

"Doctor. She. Is. Returning."

Thoughts rushed round Donnas head as she tried to make sense of the mans words. Why had he told her that old nursery rhyme? And why was he ranting on about sheppards and wolves? And who…the Doctor asked her next question for her.

"Who's she? Who is returning?"

The wind was now howling around the room, doors were banging and dust was rising as Evelina began to move towards them.

"Even your name is false, Doctor. Your real name is burning, hidden in the Cascades of Medusa herself. I should call you Lord sir, as so many others have done. You are a Lord of Time, but beware the name, the title. What is in a name? War, fire, death. Birds, songs, rivers." She span around to face Donna, the pace of her words quickening as she began to bear down on her. "Donna. Woman. Noble. And only one who is noble of heart is fit to be a saviour." With a gasp, she crashed to the floor, exhausted. Donna turned to the Doctor, mouth wide open.

"What. The. Heck?"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, and I hope the fact that some of it was similar to the show wasn't boring. Let me know either way so I know what to improve!


	4. Strange Occurrences

**Disclaimer:** Trust me, I'm not Russell T Davis. Sadly, I'm not even Mrs Tennant. I own nothing but the laptop on my lap, and the thoughts in my head.

--

"This is barmy!" Donna yelled. "I'm from Chiswick! I've only ever done package holidays and now I'm here!! This is…"

She continued to ramble on as the Doctor adjusted his suit. He'd picked a new blue one for the trip, claiming to Donna it was because he couldn't be bothered to get the ash out of his brown one. She'd bought the reason, and it was partly true. It was the reason he gave himself, not wanting to dwell on why he was less attracted to the brown pinstripes lately. He grinned at Donna as she stood in front of the TARDIS doors, pleased by her enthusiasm, and made to follow her.

Donna ran out of the doors into a blast of freezing cold air. She instantly began to shiver in her blue sleeveless dress.

"I've got the word." She managed to stammer out. "Freezing."

The Doctor followed her out, and started wittering on about the snow of all things. Who cared about the snow? Couldn't he see that the snow was what made it cold?

"Bit cold." Her teeth were chattering so hard the words almost didn't make it out. Now he was going on about the view! She liked watching him smile though. At times like these, when he was discovering something new, he was different, less distant. At times like these, he seemed less distracted by a girl called Rose.

"Molto bene!" The Doctor exclaimed happily, walking forward. Donna stayed behind, clinging to the last shred of protection the TARDIS gave from the biting wind.

"You've had a life of work and food and sleep, telly and rent and tax and takeaway dinners. Birthdays and Christmas and two weeks holiday a year, and you end up here!" His voice faltered a little to the end.

"_You lot, all you do is eat chips go to bed and watch telly! While all the time, underneath you there's a war goin' on!" _

A soft voice with a clear London accent.

"_Alright. Start from the beginning."_

Wrenching his mind back to the present, the Doctor carried on;

"Donna Noble!" Yes. He was travelling with Donna. _Well done Doctor, you're doing well. Clap clap._

"Citizen of the Earth!"

"_There's a Torchwood on this planet, it's opening for business. Reckon I know a thing or two about aliens!"_

"_Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth!"_

Gritting his teeth, he turned to the TARDIS.

"How about that Donna?"

She was gone.

"Donna?"

"If he thinks I'm goin' out dressed like this he's got another think coming!" Donna muttered to herself as she rummaged through the wardrobe.

"Too ugly." She tossed a hideous pink and green monstrosity aside.

"Too manly." A beaten up leather jacket went flying past.

"Too flimsy." A red Punkyfish hoodie joined the pile of discarded jackets.

"Actually…" she picked up the last item and examined it with interest. It was a bit young for her, but still pretty nice. As she was holding it, a searing pain flashed through her head and she was forced to her knees. Blinded by the pain, she couldn't see a thing until suddenly it stopped, and her vision cleared.

"What the heck?!" She sat up, and then stood up.

"Punky? I don't think we're in the TARDIS anymore." Donna told the red jumper sadly, while looking around her. She seemed to be in an office of some kind. The sound of typing made her spin around. A young blonde girl was examining a computer screen in the corner, eyes narrowed, tongue between her teeth. She seemed to be concentrating, and had taken no notice of Donna.

"Sorry, I don't think I'm menna be here?" Donna began, walking towards her. "Only, I think the lights in my…house, short circuited or…hello?"

The girl had taken no notice of Donna, still intent on her reading.

"Oy! Blondie!" Donna yelled, thinking the girl must be either really deaf or really rude. She waved her hand in front of the girls face, but stopped short when she realised she could see through it. Her hand. She could see through her hand.

"No way." Donna was more than offended now, this was freaky. A noise echoed in the hallway behind her, and she turned, as did the other girl.

"Shift change in 5 minutes. Incoming and outgoing"

The girl sprang to her feet, a desperate look on her pretty face, and for a single second, her brown eyes appeared to lock onto Donnas. In that instant, Donna felt herself being pulled, and the office went white. When she dared look, she was back in the wardrobe on the TARDIS.

"Maybe not this jumper." She discarded it and picked up a huge fluffy coat, before running back to the Doctor.

"Sorry, you were saying? Actually, never mind what you were saying, the weirdest thing just happened…"

She began to relate her story, which sounded ludicrous even to her own ears. The Doctor looked more amused than concerned.

"Did someone fall asleep in there?" His tone was teasing, and it made Donna begin to doubt her own story. He continued; "Let me guess, you went in the back of the wardrobe and found yourself in another land. I know some kids who did that once. God they were annoying. I wonder what happened…

"No, I was awake…I think…" Donna interrupted his ramblings, becoming less convinced by the minute. The lack of seriousness in the Doctors eyes told her he wasn't bothered, and she decided he was right.

"Maybe not…wouldn't be the first time I'd fallen asleep in my wardrobe…don't ask." she answered in response to his raised eyebrows. The incident was put out of her mind by an enormous rocket flying overhead.

"Blimey! That's what I call a spaceship! You've got a box, and he's got a Ferrari!"

The Doctor looked offended, but Donna was already marching off. He looked back at the TARDIS. A strange feeling overcame him as he gazed at it.

"_I'm coming."_

Had he thought that or heard it? Turning to Donna, he was about to ask if she'd said anything before he realised she was way ahead. Shaking his head, he turned back to the TARDIS, still hurt by Donnas' remark.

"Rose always said she loved it." He muttered sulkily, before turning to catch her up.

--

"Are these people illiterate as well as boring?"

Rose grumbled to the computer as she corrected yet another typing error in the Racnoss report. "It's clearly **e**radicate, not **ir**adicate. Even I know that, and I didn't even do well at school!"

Sighing, she read to the bottom of the file and clicked print, before leaning back in her chair.

"Another thrilling task done for Torchwood!" the bright smile on her face more false than Charmaines' new nose.

"Aww, is someone resentful?" A teasing tone came from the corridor, as a mop of messy brown hair and twinkling brown eyes appeared round the doorframe.

"Jeff!" Rose greeted him, happy for someone to talk to. She was attempting to ignore the tightening in her chest which always instinctively accompanied someone in a brown suit with dark hair. The pain faded away.

"_Good girl Rose. Now breathe, smile, act normal. Breathe, smile, act normal_."

Why was the voice in her head always so damn chirpy. Forcing a smile to her lips, she turned back to Jeff.

"How are you?"

"Fine thanks, I'm more worried about you. You look shattered Rose. How many extra hours are you doing?" He looked concerned as he leaned closer to her. Rose didn't even realise she had moved away until she saw the hurt look cross his handsome features.

"Sorry." Keeping her eyes down, she wasn't sure if he'd heard. How could she explain to him that having new, different guys near her made her feel…almost unfaithful.

"Though how you can be unfaithful to someone who's technically dead I don't know." The thought crossed her mind before her filters blocked it.

"_Now now Rose, no thoughts like that. Thinking like that leads to uncontrollable crying jags in the toilets and awkward questions which leads to more crying, which leads to your mother locking up all of her sleeping pills. Breathe, smile, act normal."_

Her inner therapist satisfied, Rose turned back to Jeff.

"Oh not many. I just…didn't sleep well. Bad dreams."

Her face may have looked calm and happy, but she was afraid the war of emotions and memories fighting just below the surface would crack the mask.

"_Am I ever gonna see you again?" _

Two words. Two tiny little words which broke her heart. #

"_You can't."_

"NO."

Rose burst out, leaning forward to cut of the images rushing past her. Jeff went to put his arm round her, but caught himself.

"Sorry!" Rose had her eyes shut tight as she sat up. She exhaled, and slowly opened them. "Toothache."

"_Nicely done Rose. Same time next week then."_

Her shrink having applauded her, Rose attempted to salvage the conversation.

"Been busy?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask…what time do you get off work?"

Rose stared at him, hoping what she sensed was wrong.

"Why?"

He must have sensed her unease.  
"Well, I thought…maybe, I know you like chips, I just thought…" he carried on stammering like a teenager on his first date, but Rose was long gone on a date of her own.

"_I dunno. I want…can you smell chips?" _

A laugh that could melt stone.

"_Yeah. Yeah!" _

"_I want chips!"_

"_Me too." _A hand holding hers which felt so safe, she knew she could fall of a cliff and not be hurt as long as she held on to it.

"_Right then, chips it is and you can pay…" _

"_No money." _

"_What sort of date are you…"_

"So what do you think?"

Rose jerked back to reality.

"Huh?"

Jeff looked mortified. He stood up and started to leave.

"Don't worry, stupid idea…"

"No I'd love to!"

Rose had no idea where the words came from. "Bout 7 yeah?"

"Meet you here." Jeff looked so happy, she felt awful, but plastered a grin on her face.

"Sounds great." She waited until he had left, then the smile fell as she banged her head on the desk. Why had she said yes? She didn't want to start seeing Jeff. She was leading him on…part of her knew why though. The nicer she was to Jeff, the more chances she had to participate in the shift changes.

"_Bitch."_

"Don't you start." Rose scolded her inner voice as she sighed and pushed the event to the back of her mind with all the other clutter. She turned back to her screen, and the room seemed to grow colder, a gust of wind springing up from nowhere. Annoyed, Rose continued trying to read her report, until she felt something. It felt like someone was watching her. Slowing her reading, she focused on what she could feel. If she turned suddenly, she had the element of surprise…any minute…turn…NOW.

There was nothing there.

"Shift change in 5 minutes. Incoming and outgoing."

Rose leapt desperately to her feet. Agreeing to go out with Jeff was paying off. Glancing at the clock, she saw it read 5:20. If she got a 5:30 shift for 4 hours, she'd have until 9:30 in the other world to find…

"Aliens." She told herself, then grinned. Well it wasn't entirely untrue. She was due off shift at 10pm anyway, so her Mum would never know she'd been gone. Without another thought, she was out of the door and down the stairs.

"I'm coming." she whispered desperately. "I know you're out there. Please: I'm coming."

--

In another place, another time, far far away, a woman smiled as she read the monitor before her.

"The spider walks straight to the fly, as the web closes. Look out sheppard. The sky is turning red and the wolf is approaching…"

Turning from the screen, she began to laugh. A cold, mirthless laugh. The laugh of the child who enjoys burning ants. Of the woman scored with no conscience. A laugh that the Devil himself must utter when he claims another soul. It filled the whole room, and stretched out across the whole of time and space.

No – one could escape.

--

A/N: Likey? Hatey? Lemme know either way in a review! Hopefully there will start being more action now. Leave me your thoughts!!


	5. Confessions of a Timelord

Disclaimer: Still not mine!!

--

"Doctor? Its Martha. And I'm bringing you back to Earth!"

To say talking to her again was a bit odd was an understatement. The Doctor still felt guilty when he thought about the things he'd put her through. After all that, she deserved his attention. But at the same time, he felt trepidation. While Martha had been travelling with him, she'd made it clear she liked him. As in really, really liked him. He'd been careful not to encourage her, not to give her the wrong idea, but she didn't, or wouldn't, take the hint. It was when the Doctor was with Martha – a young, clever, pretty girl – that it had truly hit home. No – one would ever replace Rose, and he'd been stupid to think anyone could. It was a mistake taking Martha, selfish, when he wanted a friend but he knew she wanted more. She would just keep being compared, analysed, never quite measuring up to his Rose. At the end, he knew she had worked that out. Knew that she knew she'd never meet the standard in his eyes. The Doctor sighed, and glanced at Donna. This was going to be very interesting.

--

The moment the Doctor walked out of the TARDIS, it all came flooding back. Martha had to breathe deeply to steady herself as she took in the sight of that great hair, those twinkling eyes, that good old suit.

"Martha Jones."

His voice was friendly but hesitant. Not that she could blame him. Last time they met she had sort of confessed her undying love for him. If she was completely honest, Martha had known. She'd always known. She'd loved him from the moment they met, but she'd known he wasn't hers to keep. His hearts belonged to another girl in some far away place. Physically, the two were apart, but the whole time they'd been travelling, Martha had felt Rose was with them. Looks, sighs, private jokes, sentences cut off in the middle of speaking, and sometimes just the look in the Doctors eyes. She had thought that if she stayed, she could change that, make him fall in love with her. How dare he pine over this girl who was gone? She'd left him, why did he love her? What could this Rose, a simple shop girl, give him that she, Martha Jones, a doctor in training, couldn't? Why was she so, so special? But as time passed, she knew that nothing could replace Rose. It caused her pain to see the Doctor hurting so much, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, and she knew she could never replace Rose. He'd told her that from the start.

"_Rose, her name was. Not that you're replacing her!"_

"_Never said I was."_

She should have known right then, when she saw his eyes. She should have turned and walked away because it was painfully clear that Rose was the woman he was in love with. But she'd stayed. She had only herself to blame for the anguish he'd put her through.

As they walked toward each other, the Doctor knew Martha wanted to hug him. Forcing a smile, he lifted her half heartedly off her feet as she flung her arms round his neck. They used to hug like this. Him and Rose. But with Rose, he'd whirl her right off her feet and spin her round and she'd cling to him like a limpet, and they'd laugh and she'd smile...

"Stop it!" His mind scolded him. He was doing it again, comparing the two even as he smiled at Martha and made small talk. "She's never going to match up. No – one will. Accept it."

"Yeah, not too bad…" Marthas' voice trailed off as a red head walked out of the TARDIS.

"Should have known." She joked weakly, feeling like someone had kicked her hard in the stomach.

"How could you?" her mind screamed at the Doctor as she stared at the stranger. "Don't you know I love you?"

Forcing the thoughts from her mind, she plastered a smile.

"Didn't take you long to replace me!"

The Doctor flinched. Great. She wasn't over it.

"Don't fight," he pleaded, backing away.

"You wish!" Donna snorted as she walked over to Martha and held out her hand. "He talks about you all the time!"

She saw Martha look down in embarrassment.

"No, no, nice things…" Donna finished unconvincingly.

"He told you everything." It was a statement, not a question. Floundering, Donna looked to change the subject.

"Didn't take you long to get over it though!" she gestured to the band on Marthas' ring finger. Even as she said the words Donna knew they weren't true. There may be a ring on her finger, but the Doctor was still in her mind, and her heart. And that could be an issue.

--

"Umph." the man groaned as he landed… in the middle of a field. He checked the watch – like contraption on his wrist. "Locations way off! Come on!" He called to the dark haired girl behind him. She muttered something less than flattering about his sense of direction as they picked their way over to the roadside. Scanning the horizon, the man smiled as he saw his target.

"UNIT headquarters. Bingo."

--

Great. UNIT. The Doctors favourite people in the universe. Ha ha.

"Don't salute!" His feelings of frustration were evident even in those two short words. The colonel started babbling on about honour, but the Doctor tuned him out. He didn't like UNIT. Too many guns. As the colonel started to explain the situation, the Doctor couldn't help but notice how Marthas eyes kept flitting back in his direction. He sighed inwardly and turned back to the screen. It was times like these he missed Roses head hanging over his shoulder, her hand on his, her eyes narrowed as she concentrated on what was being said. She'd turn to him and ask questions, eager to learn more.

"Curiosity kills the cat!" He would smile at her, before taking her hand in his and explaining what was going on. Not that she was thick. Far from it. Rose had the best intuition of anyone he had ever met, along with a great big dollop of common sense. Instinctively, his hand closed, as though still holding hers.

"Doctor where are you?"

His head snapped up. That voice…that was…impossible. Sneaking a glance at Martha and Donna, he saw they were both looking at the screen, and shook his head, before tapping it with his fingers.

"Hello?" he whispered to his head, his brow furrowed in confusion. He tapped his head again, then stopped as he realised the others were staring at him in concern.

"Just…trying to concentrate." He grinned unconvincingly and looked at the screen. Donna caught Marthas eye and the pair raised their eyebrows. Strange man.

None of them noticed the two figures clad in uniform sidle in behind them.

--

Martha didn't know what drove her to do it. One minute she and Donna were standing in the office, Donna looking through files, and Martha checking drawers. It seemed pointless. Mouse mat, pencils, lip-gloss, some scratch card thing from 'Bad Wolf Inc.', elastic bands… the next thing she knew, she was warning Donna about the Doctor.

"He's like fire." Martha told her. "Stand too close and people get burnt."

She saw the look of doubt cross the older woman's face, and felt a strange flicker of happiness. Why should Donna travel all happily with the Doctor when Martha couldn't go near him because of her feelings. Donna had such a confident, happy – go – lucky attitude; she deserved to have some doubts. To doubt the Doctor. To have her cosy little world disrupted. Suddenly, she caught herself. What was she thinking? It wasn't Donnas fault. Mentally shaking herself, Martha swallowed hard. She'd found herself acting out of character a lot lately since starting at UNIT, and since getting engaged. She was more ruthless, harder, tougher. But that was the job wasn't it? You had to be tough to be good. And she was very good. She had the potential to be even better. But even so…Martha just worried whether every step closer to being the best at her job was one step away from Martha Jones.

This colonel was mad. Barking. Bonkers. He wanted the Doctor to take the TARDIS near this crazy genius kid? No chance.

"Jenkins?" The colonel barked.

"Sir?" An accent with an American tang came from a tall dark haired man whose face was hidden by his hat.

"Accompany the Doctor. Take orders from him."

"I don't do orders." The Doctor cut in, increasing the annoyance on the mans face.

"Any trouble, get Jenkins to declare a code red. Good luck." He saluted, but the Doctor reminded him not to. He scowled after the officer. He really, really didn't like UNIT. Turning, he saw Donna approaching, and grabbed her hand, jabbering excitedly about where they were going.

"I'm going home." The words stopped him short. Donna? Leave? She couldn't. Not Donna. Not someone else. She'd turned his head straight after Martha. Her complete lack of romantic feeling for him had stopped him going totally crazy. He couldn't lose someone else. Not again. Not after her. Then he saw her face.

"You're just going for a visit. And then you're coming back."

He was so thrilled he even forgave her calling him a dunce and a dumbo and whatever else she wanted to call him. He cared deeply for Donna. She was good for him, picking him up when he was down. She'd stopped him doing some stupid things.

"I'm glad." His tone was serious, and Donna looked up, surprised. "I want to tell you something Donna. You remember when we met?"

"Like I could forget spaceman! Donna started to laugh, but stopped when she saw his eyes.

"The day we met, I was ready to self destruct. Just fly around time and space on my own forever. When you turned up in my TARDIS I'd just lost…" he stopped and swallowed hard. "I'd just lost the love of my life."

Donna felt her eyes fill with tears. Martha had just been about to approach the pair, but stopped in her tracks at the Doctors words. Love of my life. Wow.

"With the Racnoss, you told me to stop. I was angry, so angry at the universe for taking Rose away from me. But I was angry at myself, for leaving her. I should have tried harder, I should have fought harder to keep her. I should have let go of that damn lever myself and followed her into the void. But I didn't. I abandoned her. It was the worst moment of my life."

"You couldn't have helped her." Donna tried, tears now running down her cheeks at the raw emotion the Doctor was showing her. Behind the door, Martha clasped her hand over her mouth as she, too, cried. No wonder she'd never stood a chance. But the Doctor wasn't finished.

"If you hadn't stopped me, Donna, brought me to my senses, I probably wouldn't have stopped. I didn't want to. I wanted that water to rise up and up and take me with it. Because if I wasn't here, I wouldn't have to miss her anymore. If Rose wasn't here, I didn't want to be either." Tears now flowed freely down the Doctors face, and Martha fully understood for the first time why she and the Doctor never even came close to being an item. He was still so in love with Rose, anyone could see that. Now both Martha and Donna understood. If it hadn't been for Donna, the Doctor would have killed himself that day. Donna herself didn't know what to say. She simply held out her arms and hugged the Doctor, crying silently. The Doctor hugged her back. He didn't know why he'd felt the need to tell Donna all that, right now at possibly the least convenient moment ever. But he had. He just hoped that now she understood what she meant to him. Donna had saved his life.

"Oh look at the pair of us!" smiled Donna as they broke apart. She wiped her eyes and smiled up at him. "Typical you, always over dramatising everything! I'll say it's a good job I was there, cos otherwise the entire human race would be a bit buggered! Come on you big wuss!"

The Doctor looked down at her in pride. That was Donna, always making a joke of everything.

"Oy, watch who you're talking to! Come on, we've got a genius to see." The Doctor retorted as he took her hand. Laughing, they climbed into the jeep, beside Jenkins.

"Afternoon Doctor, Doctors friend."

The Doctor looked puzzled and turned to the man. He sounded so familiar, but it wasn't…

"Can't be." he muttered, scrutinizing Jenkins. "Torchwood _hate_ UNIT…"

"Anyone wanna tell me what's going on?" Donna asked the Jeep in general.

Jenkins turned to them and took his cap off, revealing his face.

The Doctors mouth fell open in shock. Donnas mouth fell open, but not for the same reason.

'Jenkins' grinned at the pair.

"Hey Doctor, who's your lovely lady friend?"

Captain Jack Harkness was back.

--

A/N: Hope people liked it, and I hope it wasn't too sappy and emotional. I just wanted to get across how important Donna was to the Doctor, and try to sort Marthas head out a bit. Please review!!


	6. Words Can Always Hurt Me

Disclaimer: Yep, I own it all. I wish. Nah, it's not mine :(

--

Rose Tyler was not happy. Really, really not happy. She'd been on a shift last night, got back before ten, and her mother had still found out. Someone had ratted. It had started the moment she walked home the previous night.

"Hi Mum! You alright?" Perfectly normal, nothing suspicious.

"Sit down." Damn. Rose sighed as she slid into one of the kitchen chairs and put her head on the table.

"Look, Mum, I think I know what this is about…"

"Darn right you do! What's this about you doing another shift! You know it's dangerous, and I don't just mean physically. You know it messes with your head! Honestly Rose…"

Rose sighed as she prepared herself for a lecture. Her mother hated her going on shift changes, because she could guess the ulterior motive. Jackie knew what her daughter was searching for. She wanted Rose to stop looking, to settle down, to be happy with her new family. She didn't understand that even while living there, day after day, Rose still couldn't envision a world without the Doctor.

"Sweetheart, it's because I care about you. I've seen you when you're back from these things. It destroys you bit by bit. You're never gonna find him…"

"I AM." Rose didn't even realise she was crying until her mother wiped at her cheek gently. "You don't know anything. He's out there. Somethings going to happen Mum, I can feel it. He's in trouble." Her voice grew desparate and fearful. "He _needs_ me…"

"If he needed you so badly, why did he dump you here and cop off with some other girl?"

A ringing silence filled the kitchen, louder than anything Rose had ever heard. She sank down to the floor, clutching her chest, physically unable to remain standing. Emotion and speech abandoned her, as the words sliced through her body, her heart, her mind, _crippling_ her. She sat in shock, completely motionless, while Jackie clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Rose, listen love, I didn't –"

"Leave it."

Roses tone was emotionless, her face a blank mask. Without saying a word, she stood up and left the room, heading upstairs. It wasn't until she had the bedroom door shut tight behind her that she breathed again. A shuddering gasp tore at her throat, as she sank to the carpet, and began to sob. Her mother had a point. The Doctor had left her. He'd said it was to save the universe, the only way, but what if he'd just been sick of her? What if it was all a carefully formulated excuse? She had trusted that man with her life, but she'd judged people wrongly before. Flipping heck, she'd fancied Jimmy Stone; no-one could trust her judgement. Could it be true? Were all her memories a lie? All the times he'd hugged her, joked with her, comforted her: was it all an act? She remembered when she had teleported back, after he sent her away. He had seemed almost…angry. Was it because she ruined his plan? And those last moments...

"_I lo...I love you."_

"_Quite right too. And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it."_

_Desparation, hope that he felt the same way._

"_Rose Tyler-"_

She'd assumed, stupidly, that he had been going to reciprocate her feelings. Tell her he loved her. But what if it was all a lie? What if he cut off the transmission on purpose, or what if he'd been planning to say something different? Who could be sure of anything? Thoughts whirled round and round her head, as she dragged herself onto her bed.

"_This is really seein' the future, you just leave us behind. Is that what you're gonna do to me?"_

"_No. Not to you."_

She hadn't been able to deny the comfort those words gave her at the time. He'd seemed so sure, so confident that he'd never leave her.

_But he did._ whispered a little voice in her head. _He left you here, all by yourself. And for all you know, he's got another young, pretty new assistant, and he's showing her the whole of time and space._

Rose suppressed a sob as she scrunched the duvet in her hands. Turning onto her side, she looked at the bottle of sleeping pills her mother, concerned about Roses' tiredness, had got from a doctor, to help her sleep after a long days work. She hadn't touched any, preferring to try and sleep by herself, but now she found the bottle in her hand. If he really didn't love her, was there a point of getting up every day? She only went to her job because it reminded her of him, and she hoped one day they'd find each other. If he didn't even want her…if he'd moved on...weighing the small bottle in her palm, Rose squinted at the label through her tears.

'Take two every eight hours."

That would help you sleep for about 12 hours. But what if you wanted to sleep longer than that? A lot longer. Her mothers words came back to her.

"If he needed you so badly why did he dump you here?"

No longer hesitating, Rose struggled with the lid of the bottle. She could hear footsteps.

"Go away!" she shouted out. "I'm going to sleep."

Smiling at the irony of her words, Rose poured the pills onto her palm.

It would be so easy, so simple, to just drift quietly away, and forget the pain…

Rose let a face fill her mind.

"I love you, my Doctor."

Time to sleep.

--

"You be careful ok!" Donna yelled to the Doctor in the window of the Jeep. "And you too!" She giggled coyly at Jack, who winked. Grinning, she turned back and continued walking. As she did so, she reflected on Marthas words. Images and memories flashed through her mind. Hanging on a rope out of a window miles above the ground. A face of stone. Children whose fate it was to die. Ood in slavery, their tragic song. Waving at fat. A little boy ran past her, kicking his football. Birds sang. People washed their cars. A different world. She felt detached, as though she no longer belonged in this life of work and taxes and bills. The Doctor had changed her. But was it for the better? He had shown her amazing sights, places, people. But so much pain. So much suffering. Even in himself. He had lost the person he loved the most in the world, and she could see in his eyes how much it hurt. Donna knew her mother cared for her, in her own way. How must she have felt when Donna just upped and left, fallen off the face of the earth? And what about…

Then she saw him. Her Grandad. The one person who loved her more than anything. Her hand came to her mouth as a torrent of love crashed over her. She felt about six years old again as she flew into his arms and breathed in the familiar scent. And then she knew. No matter what happened, she had to be true to herself. She was worth more than bills and Pringles and temping. A million times more.

--

"Torchwoods had their eye on UNIT for a while. And UNITS had their eye on this Rattigan academy." Jack explained as the Doctor continued to stare.

"You see, I've sort of been in another universe. Working with Torchwood, but in another universe. We have this shift thing which means we can come across to this world. Kind of dangerous, but necessary."

"They can't do that, the bridge is sealed. Coming across tears the entire structure, the whole universe will collapse!"

"_The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."_

"_So?"_

_A smile, a defeated laugh._

"DON'T." The Doctor ordered himself, squeezing his eyes shut before tuning back to Jack.

"Well that's the point, it hasn't. Someone or something wants people to travel between dimensions. They're literally holding the universes together, but why? You can only come across for a while, but we've been using it to keep an eye on UNIT, see if they can figure out what's keeping these worlds together. For now though, our Torchwood has these 'shift changes', people get through. Only side effect is that thoughts can be transferred too. Let me tell you, with some of the young ones, those thoughts are not something you wanna know about…"

The Doctor had stopped listening. Torchwood could travel between universes? People could cross over? But then surely… Jack had paused in his monologue, and looked at the Doctor. He knew what had happened, everyone did. The Doctor had saved the world at the battle of Canary Wharf, but at a cost.

"I'm sorry. She can't come back."

The Doctor jumped. Jack had read his mind. Trying to keep his voice steady, he let one word escape.

"Why?"

Jack had never felt sorrier for anyone, but he didn't want to get the Doctors hopes up.

"I don't know for sure if she's even in the same world. There are hundreds of parallel universes, you know that. Unless I can find her, I can't bring her over. And even if I did there's a limited time to how long she can stay. They don't usually let newbies work the shifts anyway. Though there is this one girl, quite new, really young. I've heard blonde." He winked at the Doctor, who smiled distractedly. Jack cleared his throat. "She's stuck on filing and Research, but she still gets a lot of responsibility. Crosses over a lot, says she's researching. I haven't actually met her, but word is she's good…"

The Doctors mind was elsewhere. For maybe a second, a whole, life changing, glorious second, he had thought it was possible. He could get his angel back. Shaking his head, he was angry with himself. Why did he do this? Why on earth had he let himself believe he would be able to hold her in his arms and feel her heart beating? That he would see her smile, hear her laughter, hold her hand tight in his? Let himself believe he would get the chance to tell her what he should have told her every minute from the moment he met her? That he lo-

"Here we are." Jacks voice cut in as they pulled up. "Now be careful. Geniuses tend to be a little crazy – no offence." He grinned at the Doctor, trying to lighten the atmosphere. But the other man was a million miles away and Jack kicked himself for mentioning Rose. He had hoped maybe the Doctor had moved on with his life, but it was crystal clear that the one thing most important in his life was still Rose Tyler. Jack sighed. How could one small girl cause so much heartache?

--

Donna wiped the tears away as she walked back into the TARDIS. How could she explain it? She adored the Doctor (in a strictly platonic sense,) and she loved travelling, but she was only human. She missed her family too. Wiping her eyes, she turned to Martha, who was looking around her with a strange longing, and Jack, who was preparing to shift back.

"Only a few hours," he was saying to the Doctor. "But I'll find you again don't you worry!" The pair laughed, and Jack slowly faded from view. The Doctor looked after him, eyes full of sadness. If only…

"What about you?" Donna asked Martha. "Plenty of room!"

Martha looked at her. She was so nice. Martha had been fully prepared to detest any assistants the Doctor had, but you couldn't not love Donna. But the ring on her finger tugged her back to reality and practicality.

"I'm needed here." she told them. "But I really have missed all this, so, so much."

The Doctor looked away, half revielved. He loved Martha as a friend, but didn't know if he could handle her romantic implications. All of a sudden, he doubled over.

"Doctor? You alright?" Donna ran to his side. He couldn't speak. He felt an agonising, crippling pain in his hearts. He hadn't hurt like this since that day on the beach. He felt his hearts were breaking, total despair and betrayal.

"I love you my Doctor." The voice, he knew it. Something was wrong.

"Rose." he said it almost silently, but both girls heard it and looked at each other. He knew something was wrong with Rose. "She needs me."

Almost as suddenly as it started, the pain faded away.

"Doctor!" Martha cried. "Whats going on?"

He straightened up. "I dunno." he lied. Rose had been hurting, he knew that. All he wanted was to have her there so he could hold her to him and promise it would all be okay. But then it had stopped. Surely she was okay, she'd been comforted. Tears sprang to his eyes at the thought of someone else looking after her. Swallowing, he tried to act normal.

"Its fine. Nothing. So, Martha. You off?"

"Yep. Sorry Doctor, but some of us like the routine of the Earth you know!"

Martha laughed as she made for the door. Suddenly, it slammed shut and the TARDIS gave a lurch.

"What?" the Doctor cried as the central column began to move. "We're in flight!"

"Doctor you take me home right now!" Martha demanded, but it was to no avail. The TARDIS was out of control, and they were headed into the unknown.

--

"No no my dears. She shall not leave. She is needed. It is all coming together!" A female voice rasped out, as she looked down at the monitor before her. "Closer and closer they come, the web draws tighter, and soon…" she stood and faced her comrade. "There will be no escape."

--

A/N: Hope you liked it! By the way thank you all so, SO much for all the lovely reviews! It really makes a difference to my attitude towards this story!! More soon, please review! :-)


	7. Tough Choices

Disclaimer: Sorry, I still don't own anything!!

I just wanted to thank you all for your fab reviews! They really made my day!

--

"Rose? Listen sweetheart you've got to eat something. Rose, please open the door."

"Rose? It's Mickey. Listen, let me in. Let me talk to you."

"Rose, I know you're angry at me, but at least talk to Mickey!"

"Rose?"

"Rose?"

"Rose?"

So many words. So many voices, but none of them the right one. None of them were strong enough to pull her back.

"Rose? Come on open up."

"Jackie, maybe you should go downstairs..."

"What? I'm not going anywhere. Rose? Why would I...oh God, you don't think something's happened do you? Rose? Answer me!"

"Jacks, go back downstairs. Me and Mickey are gonna force it open."

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE! THAT'S MY DAUGHTER. ROSE!"

Hysteria. High pitched voices. Concern. And yes, love. But it wasn't enough.

A bang. Silence.

"She's still sleeping."

Then the screaming begins.

"Oh my God. What the hells she gone and done? Rose? ROSE!"

But it still wasn't enough.

--

"Jack. Anything?"

Bloody hell, he'd only just got back.

"Yeah, I met the Doctor."

He sighed as he sat down and put his feet up on the desk. They could be really draining these shift changes. Not to mention saving the world from weird troll like things that wanted to poison the entire Earth. And he was starving.

"Look, I'll tell you in a minute ok? I'm just going down to get something to eat."

They didn't look happy, but hey, he had the information, and he was going to pass out if he didn't get something sugary down his throat.

"Like vultures." Jack muttered as he started down the stairs. The lifts would be packed at this hour, all the night staff were coming on duty. Jack had barely put his foot on the first step when he became aware of a commotion down the hallway.

"Medical." He assumed. The med ward was at the end of this corridor, and arguably the busiest department. Confirming his suspicions, six medics appeared round the corner, pushing a trolley, the patient concealed from view. They whizzed past without a word of explanation, but he caught the arm of Aurora, a young doctor who he knew he could charm information out of.

"What's going on?" Instantly her brow furrowed worriedly.

"I'm not supposed to say, confidentiality and all…"

Jack smiled at her and ran his hand up her arm, looking into her eyes.

"Yeah, but you can tell me, right? You trust old Jacky…"

_Like taking candy from a baby _Jack though sadly as he saw her whole composure change. Sometimes, it was too easy; these people had no self respect.

"Young girl, approximately 19, 20 years old, suspected overdose. She's critical."

Jack frowned.

"She's an employee? Surely someone would have noticed she was depressed?"

Aurora looked sad.

"Unfortunately, some of these girls are good actresses."

They had reached the ward by this point. Medics were shouting and running around, and he couldn't see much of the girl, just a few stray strands of blonde hair. Suddenly, one of the doctors moved, and Jacks gaze locked onto her face.

"It can't be."

Aurora looked at him in confusion.

"You know her? We pulled up her details on the computer. Rose Tyler."

Jack closed his eyes as Aurora confirmed what he knew.

"New recruit. Youngest in the team apparently, and pretty good at it. She's friendly with Jeff on the dimension jumps; he's been giving her a lot of shifts. We're going to try and find out if anything happened while she was in the other world, just to rule things out."

Jack looked up in hope.

"So, she could have been attacked? Drugged? It wasn't necessarily…you know." He looked at Rose, remembering her as she was, full of life, love and light. Always laughing and talking and moving. Now she just lay there, whiter than chalk, beautiful eyes closed, not moving. She looked as though she was already…

Jack cut his thoughts off as Aurora started to speak.

"Well, we'd hope so, but apparently her mother found this next to her."

Jack took the bottle Aurora held out to him.

"This is strong stuff. Two every eight hours. She took the whole bottle?"

"Apparently, as she hadn't even opened it before."

Tears came to Jacks eyes as he looked at Roses unconscious form. What the hell drove her to this? A picture formed in his mind, of a man in a brown suit. Could that be it? The pain and loss of the Doctor made Rose try to kill herself? But it didn't make sense…

"Excuse me."

Jack turned to see a blonde woman. Roses mum. It had to be, they looked identical. Her face was pale and tear stained, and she was chewing on her nails, just the way Rose did when she was nervous.

"Do you know our Rose? Sorry, Jackie. Roses mum." Her voice was tired, almost defeated. She was an attractive woman, but he didn't even feel like flirting with her. That in itself spoke volumes. He held out his hand.

"Captain Jack Harkness. I…travelled with your daughter for a while…" he was hesitant. How much did she know?

"So you knew the Doctor?"

Ah. Apparently she knew a lot.

"Yes. I did. And I heard what happened at Canary Wharf. I just didn't realise she was in this world…" his voice trailed off as he stole another glance at Rose.

"Why did she do this? I know, she must have been devastated. I mean, believe me, I've seen the Doctor, I know how much he's hurting…"

Jackie's eyes filed with tears and she turned away.

"Oh God." she gulped. "The things I said to her…"

Jack was instantly alert.

"What happened?"

Jackie turned back to him.

"I was only looking out for her. I love her; she's my daughter for gods sake. But she kept doing all these shifts, trying endlessly to find him and getting nowhere. She was so upset…"

Something clicked in Jacks mind. The new recruit. Who kept doing shift changes. Now, it was obvious. Rose would use any and every method available to her to get her beloved Doctor back. But she hadn't found him. And it had been too much.

"What did you say?" Jacks voice rose as he damanded an answer.

"Well she was tired again, and it broke her heart those changes. I was angry..."

Jackie paused and swallowed hard.

"I said that if the Doctor loved her why did he dump her here and go off with someone else?"

Jack stared at her, before burying his head in his hands. Of all the things to say...how could anyone be so cruel?

"You're her mother. You know she's crazy about him-"

"I know." It was a quiet confession, from the heart. She looked directly into Jacks eyes, and he knew she meant it. "I'll regret it to the day I die. I know she loves him...and I know perfectly well he's mad about her. They'd do anything to get back to each other."

Jack sighed again, feeling guilt wrigh down on him. He should have known she was in this world! He should have found her the very first day and taken her home!

"Dammit Rose." Jack muttered, tears still in his eyes. "If I'd known…I'd have taken you back…"

Jackie's head snapped up.

"Taken her back?"

Jack cursed under his breath. This was going to be complicated. He explained to Roses mother what he had told the Doctor earlier, and repeated his warning that it wasn't permanent.

"Though to be honest, I don't know if it would have just hurt her more." Jack admitted. "Seeing him again, just to…"

Jackie nodded as his voice trailed off.

"Might have stopped her though. Now it's too late…we've all tried. She won't respond to any of us."

Jacks mind was whirring furiously. Rose wouldn't respond because she didn't want to. But what if the one thing she wanted most came back? It wouldn't be for good, but it might be enough to bring her back. Jack hissed through his teeth, weighing up the odds. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a young man holding Roses hand, tears drying on his cheeks.

"Mickey?" Jack asked gently. Mickey turned to him, and at once his face filled with hope.

"Jack! Is he…?" his expression fell as Jack shook his head, and went through the whole rigmarole again.

"But, I have an idea…" he finished hesitantly. "I just don't know if…"

"Do it." Mickey pleaded. "I know what you're thinking. Do it. If anyone can help Rose, he can."

Jack glanced from Mickey's pale, scared face to Roses marble pallor, and stiffened his resolve. He walked over to Roses bed and lent over her pillow, so he could whisper in her delicate ear.

"I'll find him for you."

Kissing Rose on the forehead, he turned and left the room, and got out his phone. Taking a deep breath, Jack dialled the number.

--

A/N: Sorry it took a while to update, but I hope it was worth the wait! And I hope how you like how the story is progressing! Please review!!


	8. Ghosts From The Past

Disclaimer: Does anyone even read these?

A/N: I thought I'd thank all my loyal reviewers, and apologise for taking so long, by posting two chapters in one day! Hope you like it!

--

Noises…words…sounds…voices. It was so loud, yet so quiet. They were so near, yet so far. But it was bad out there. Rose knew she would be safer in here. No-one could get her, no-one could hurt her. It was nice and peaceful and she didn't have to think any more. Sighing inwardly, Rose sank deeper into herself as she let herself float away.

--

Now the Doctor was more than confused. He was annoyed. First, his TARDIS had landed him in a strange place where the people liked guns. Now they were running around taking bits of his skin without asking.

"Are you alright?" Martha came running over with Donna, and took his hand. Even now, she couldn't help holding it a lot longer than necessary. Looking up, she felt all the old emotions batter her, and fought to keep them down.

"She's er…my daughter."

Martha snapped back to reality at the Doctors words, and stared at the pretty blonde who had just appeared…from nowhere.

Without warning, and to the Doctors annoyance, the people who liked guns pulled out said nasty guns, and began firing. He sighed. He had a feeling his day was about to get a lot worse.

--

In the TARDIS, a phone screen flashed into life as it began to ring, the tone beeping out loud and clear, sending a desparate message from one Captain Jack Harkness. No – one was there to hear it.

--

"So, where are we?" Donna suppressed a smirk. The 'Dad' comment had really got to the Doctor, she could tell. Personally, she was amazed that anything still surprised him.

"Nessalin. Or what's left of it. Red Sky Unit." The soldier tossed back over his shoulder. Donna frowned. Red sky…where had she heard that?

"_It is as true as the fact that a red sky at night shall bring a sheppard delight."_

Pompeii. That crazy prophecy guy. Funny how the brain connected things. She shook her head and followed the Doctor.

"But, this is a theatre!"

The Doctor turned as he heard her voice, not really paying attention to what he was saying. His mind was elsewhere, namely thinking about what the girl – Jenny, Donna had christened her – had said. Collateral damage. But he wasn't thinking about Martha, or the soldiers here, but of another war, another battle, another loss.

"_You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. Your name is on the list of the dead."_

_Biting her lip, her hand to her mouth as she failed to contain her tears. And all he wanted was to hold her, look after her, do whatever it took to make her stop crying…_

"Don't." He didn't realise he had spoken aloud until he saw Donna staring at him with concern. Shaking the memories away, he turned his attention to a white haired man approaching them.

"General Clom I presume!"

"End of the Western tunnels I'm told, no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the Eastern zone three generations ago, before we lost contact with the Bad Wolf Unit. Is that where you came from?"

The Doctor had opened his mouth to speak, but found himself silent at those two tiny words. Two tiny syllables which could still defeat him.

"_The things you've seen. The darkness. The big bad wolf!"_

"_Attention all personnel, Bad Wolf 1 descending."_

"_Blaid Drwg."_

"_Whats it mean?"_

"_Bad Wolf."_

"_I am the bad wolf. I create myself. I take the words. I scatter them, in time and space. A message, to lead myself here."_

A message. She scattered the words. To lead herself back. A link. It wasn't possible. It couldn't mean…just for a second, the Doctor allowed those words to fill his mind, reaching out, feeling…suddenly, his whole being seemed to grow warm, and his heart rate increased. He knew the feeling. It was the way he felt whenever he saw Rose. What could it mean?

"Eastern zone that's us! I'm Donna and this is the Doctor!"

Donna's brisk tone broke the connection, and the Doctor was wrenched back to the situation. He blinked, feeling strangely drained, as though he had been sleeping for a long long time. Something had happened there, he knew it. Something to do with…her. But what was going on?

--

Now it was Martha's turn to be annoyed. She was stuck underground with a load of fish people. Glancing around, she didn't recognise anything; apart from a booth identical to the one that the girl had come out of, only this one was producing more fish people. There was no writing, no signs, nothing to give her a single hint as to where she was. Looking again, she noticed the words 'Bad Wolf' etched into the side of the booth. As she looked at the words, a sudden dizziness overcame her, obscuring her vision. Covering her eyes, she breathed deeply, willing it to clear. When she looked up, the scenery had totally changed. She was in a tunnel, a long, dark tunnel.

"Hello?" she called out hesitantly, her voice echoing as she made her way forward. What the heck had happened? How was she in this gloomy, dark - shuddering, she pulled her jacket closer - _freezing_ tunnel? Her eyes suddenly fell upon a tiny blonde figure, huddled in a corner. She was clad in jeans and a red hoodie, but her defeated posture gave away the fact that she wasn't as bold as the colour suggested. She appeared to be shaking slightly, and her long hair was partially covering her down turned face. Martha approached her cautiously.

"Are you alright? My names Martha."

The figure shifted, and Martha found herself looking into a beautiful pair of big brown eyes. What she saw made her stop. Those eyes were so filled with pain, it hurt to look at them. Martha had only ever seen one person with eyes like that, and that was the Doctor when he thought of Rose.

"He called."

The voice was soft and quiet, but Martha could detect a clear London accent.

"Sorry, who called? Are you alright? How did you get here?"

The girl looked up, unblinking.

"He called. I felt him. In my mind. But you." she looked into Martha's eyes." You're not menna be here. How did you get here?"

Martha was concerned now. The girl was giving the impression that something... wasn't quite right. She crouched down to her level, sofenting her voice.

"Listen, my names Martha Jones. I can help you, I'm a doctor…"

At her final word the girl gave a gasp, a sound of pure anguish, and seemed to curl up smaller.

"You're not menna be here. You want me to come back. But I won't. You can't make me."

That same dizzy feeling enveloped Martha once more, and the girl began to fade from view. As she went, Martha could see her mouth moving, and made out only two words.

Bad Wolf.

--

A/N: Hope you liked it!! Reviews would be much appreciated! xxx


	9. Dogs, Cats & Jellybeans

Disclaimer: Don't own anything!!

--

A/N: Hopefully people are still reading this! Sorry it's been a while, schools been a nightmare! Thought I'd do a calmer chapter following the others, but the pace will pick up again soon! Please review, hope you like it!

--

"I came with you to see the universe. NOT get attacked by giant…stinking…wasps!" Donna yelled, punctuating her sentence by throwing things at the Doctor. Martha leant against the door, fighting for breath at the sight of the Doctors genuinely confused expression.

"But…but…you saw Agatha Christie! You know the answer to one of history's greatest mysteries!"

He ducked as a strange round device came flying at him, and shook his head, bemused as Donna stormed out of the control room.

"I enjoyed myself." He muttered grumpily to Martha, who was still laughing as she left the room. As the sound of her giggles died away, peace descended on the small room. The Doctor sighed as he set a course for London, and sat back in the chair. He liked the chair. He didn't actually use the chair much to be honest, there wasn't time. But it was a good chair.

"Good. Little. Chair…" he started, tapping his fingers in time to his words. His voice sounded unnaturally loud in the silence, and the song tailed off. The silence was deafening, and he shook his head to try and alleviate it. Reaching for a switch in front of him, he switched it on, then off, then on, then off…even the click seemed too loud, and he soon stopped, leaning back in the good little chair again. Seconds crawled by. Leaping to his feet, he went to the other side of the console, turned a dial, then came back round, staring critically at the central column, but not seeing it. To coin a phrase his enemies liked to spew out: something was wrong. The Doctor had no idea what, but…something. He could _feel_ it in his chest. Tapping his fingers nervously on the surface nearby, he leant forward, staring intensely at the circle of light moving up and down.

"What is it?" He didn't know who he was asking, himself of the TARDIS. "What's going on?"

His only answer was the grating noise of the TARDIS. Apparently, she had nothing to tell him telepathically either. Sighing loudly, he threw himself back in the chair and rubbed his eyes.

"Doctor?"

He froze, hands still over his eyes. If he stayed like this, if nothing else was said, he could still play the game. He could convince himself that she…had a cold, that's why her voice sounded a bit different. That in a moment he would look up in answer to his name, and stood in the doorway would be his Rose, perhaps chewing impatiently on her fingernails, playing with her hair, or wandering towards him. If he didn't look, he could hear her footsteps as she crossed the room, and feel her hand as she put it on his shoulder. If he could just pretend a few more seconds…

A hand fell on his shoulder.

"Doctor?"

--

Martha knew who he was thinking about, even as she stood in the doorway, watching him…sing to his chair. He was restless, full of energy, but at the same time seemed lost. She watched as he collapsed back into the chair and covered his face.

"Doctor?"

She saw him stiffen, his hands tightening over his eyes, and bit her lip. She wasn't who he wanted to see. God, couldn't he even act as though he was _happy_ to see her for once? Marching over, she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Doctor? You alright?"

It was as though Martha could hear his brain working. "_Martha. Right. Ok. Happy face!" _Right on cue, he broke into a smile.

"I'm always alright! What do you say we stop off somewhere before I take you home? Just one? Go on!"

He was darting around the room, spinning wheels, pulling levers, pressing buttons. He stood, hand poised over a dial, his eyes challenging her.

"Go on then!" Martha laughed at him, happy to see him smiling, even if she saw through it. One little trip, then she'd go home. What could possibly go wrong?

--

"I swear, if there are any fish people or insects or spiders or…" Donna's voice trailed off as she walked out of the TARDIS. "Oh!"

She had stepped out onto a carpet of luscious green grass, dotted with flowers every colour of the rainbow. A fresh, cornflower sky smiled down at her, the sun bright and beautiful, but not too hot. Inhaling, she could smell the faint trace of flowers – sunflowers, it smelled like. Every worry she had, about foreign aliens, her family or even just how her hair looked was gently brushed away, as one might brush a tear on her cheek, by the impossibly gentle breeze caressing her face. The air was peaceful, tranquil almost, with just a faint tinkling in the distance, a sound which was almost like laughter. Turning, she saw Martha looking around her with a dazed expression which Donna was sure mirrored her own. Hearing a small bang, she turned to see the Doctor stepping out of the TARDIS.

"It's beautiful." her voice was quiet, but her words filled with sincerity.

"Where are we?" Martha turned her head in the Doctors direction as he walked towards them, hands in his pockets.

"It's a personal choice. Some call it Serenity, some Peace. A few even go so far as to call it Home. Just a little, out of the way planet. Thought we could all do with a bit of a break. If I recall, there's a beach…that way." He pointed with one hand, shielding his eyes with the other. "All sand, no stones. And no seaweed, which is always a plus." He grinned at his companions. "Shops! There are shops! Another reason I like this place. Lots of little shops. You can just see them over there. Be warned though: you'll have to sing for it. Honestly!" He laughed at the incredulous looks the girls gave him. "No money, not here, just, singing. The Pax prefer that."

"Pax? Oh, I get it." Martha put her hands on her hips. "This is where you tell us that the inhabitants mean well, but are actually really violent and we should be ready to run. I get it."

"On the contrary. Pax is Latin for peace. That's all they are. Peaceful. Quiet, simple lives. Human beings would never manage it! Grow their own food, totally self sustaining. And they don't mind visitors; amazingly, no – one wants to invade here. Upsets the balance. So!" clapping his hands, he spread them wide. "Go visit! Explore. Donna, you said you could do with a break. Meet here in…half an hour your time and we'll meet for lunch. Get lost, ask a Sheppard. Trust me, you'll notice them." He smiled at Donna, who had been about to protest. She nodded weakly, her mind racing. "Well, you be careful then." she muttered to him, and strolled towards the beach, her mind racing. Martha smiled, a little disappointed. She had hoped to spend some time with the Doctor now she as back. But he was clearly preoccupied.

"Wonder what by?" she thought sarcastically, as she set off across the grass. The land was springy beneath her feet, and she didn't have to put much effort into walking. She had spied a lake in the distance, to the left, and planned to sit and sulk for a bit. Maybe that would clear her head.

--

"Finally. Civilisation. Shops, and stuff, and _some_ form of life…" Donna finished lamely as she stared at the creature before her. It was bright red and the size of a spaniel. It actually quite resembled a spaniel, though it was stood on two feet, and appeared to have actual working arms.

"Good morning. Your name?"

It spoke with an accent which sounded to Donna's ear like broad Welsh.

"Donna. Sorry, I'm visiting, can I be here? And no offence, what are you?"

The creature smiled at her. Good grief, a spaniel smiling. Now she had seen it all.

"I am a Red Sheppard, of the Pax variety. My name is Arosa I am here to be your guide if you so wish…"

Donnas mind had gone whizzing off in another direction. Red. Sheppard. Everything came back to that flippin' nursery rhyme. She had seen too much to believe in coincidence, but what else could it be? Suddenly, she became aware that the 'Pax' was walking in front of her, and she followed, eyes on the street below her.

"Hang on, these are…" she dropped to her knees, and stared at the floor. "Jelly beans. The floor is made of jelly beans. This. Is. Wizard."

Arosa laughed, a strange, bark like laugh.

"Yes, that does prove popular with guests! Would you care for lunch? We've a variety of restaurants, but our Kako Lupus restaurant has had rave reviews from all our guests." Her guide smiled encouragingly at her as she peered through the window. Several more of the Pax creatures were serving and eating, but there were also a number of creatures she had never encountered, many of them serenading their waiters, who would beam, and give them a plate of food. Her mouth dropped open as she looked more closely.

"Are they…cats? No way!"

Her guide laughed.

"Not from around here are you? I can tell." It stepped closer. "Your colouring, it is the same as ours, but this is not your home."

Donna fingered her red hair, as she bit the inside of her cheek in thought.

"Nah, this is just…a holiday, if you will. I'm with my friend. Speaking of…" she glanced at her watch, and was amazed to see that forty minutes had passed since she left the Doctor. "Damn I'm late meeting him! Sorry, and thanks for your help!"

Turning back, she flew down the jelly bean encrusted street and back into the field.

"Sorry! Got talking to this thing, this dog thing, well it wasn't a dog but…Doctor?"

She stopped, panting a little, staring around her at the empty field.

There was one very big component missing.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor had gone.

--

A/N: Reviews are love!!


	10. A Brothers Love

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, Journeys End would have been very very different…

A/N: First things first: I don't even know if anyones still reading this story, as it's been SO long since I updated. If anyone is, THANKYOU! And I'm really really sorry. Been having a bit of trouble in my home life lately, and while I would normally write to escape it, everything's been hectic. Similarly, if this chapters a bit slow and rubbishy I apologise as well, but as I said, I'm kinda distracted. ANYWAY I hope you enjoy, and PLEASE PLEASE review!!

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"Damnit." Jack muttered to himself as he received no reply. He had tried calling the TARDIS six times, and had as yet received no response. He bit his lip as he looked through the glass into Roses room, where she lay still and silent. Pressing both hands against the glass, he leaned forward, scowling moodily at the floor as he tried to ponder his next move. As he did so, he became aware of a presence beside him, and looked up to see a tall, dark haired man he didn't recognise glaring at him.

"Um…hey?" Jack was surprised at the hostility on the mans face – he was pretty sure they had never met before. "Jack." He held out his hand, which dropped back to his side as the man did not return the gesture. "You uh, a friend of Roses?" Jack nodded his head towards the room, slightly suspicious. His old protective 'big brother' feelings towards Rose had kicked in, and he didn't trust this guy.

"I guess you could say that. I'm Jeff. We work together. Rose and I were supposed to be going out tonight but she never showed. I called her house but…"

His voice trailed off as his gaze turned to the girl in the bed. Staring for a moment, he turned back to Jack. "And you are…?"

"A friend." Jack didn't realise how abrupt he was being until the words left his mouth. There was something about this guy. "A good friend." He studied the man closely. "Did you say you and Rose…had a date?"

Jeff blushed.

"Not a…date as such. I mean, we were going to go out…hang out for a while…"

Jack tuned out as Jeff stammered out an explanation. That explained the hostility then. Jeff obviously perceived him as some sort of threat to his potential relationship with Rose. Jack didn't want to be the guy who told him there was more chance of a snowball throwing contest in hell than of Rose getting involved with another guy. He had more pressing issues to worry about. Like the fact that one of his best friends was lying in a coma a few feet away, and the only person who could help her was in a parallel universe, travelling around time and space and was apparently too busy blowing up bog monsters to answer the phone.

"Fantastic." He muttered to himself. Jeff brightened, apparently thinking the remark was addressed to him.

"Yea well I thought it was pretty lucky! I mean, lets be honest, she's hot. So when she started getting interested in the shift changes I figured hey, I could get in there! I mean blonde, attractive and between you and me…" he leaned in conspiratorially towards Jack. "I doubt she'd take much persuasion if you know what I…"

The rest of Jeffs sentence was abruptly cut off, along with most of the oxygen in his body.

"You are so, so lucky her guy isn't here to hear you talk about Rose like that." Jack growled, his powerful hand around Jeffs throat. "Actually, maybe you're not so lucky, because you've managed to make me pretty pissed. Never. Talk. About. Rose. Like. That. Again." The sentence was punctuated with the sound of Jeff's head hitting the wall between every word. "You have no idea about the things she's done! And she'd worth millions of you. And mark my words, if the Doctor was here, you'd be a little pile of dust by now. The only reason I haven't done it myself is because you are going to help me with a shift change. Now. Me and Rose. Gottit?"

Jeff let out a noise.

"Glad we see eye to eye." Jack released him. "Don't move."

Jeff massaged his throat as Jack opened the door to Roses room, still seething with anger. He took a few deep breaths as he approached Jackie, sitting by Roses bedside.

"I'm taking her with me."

Jackie looked up, ready to argue, before she saw who it was.

"Can you really do it?" Her voice was tired and desperate. "Can you help her?"

Jack nodded. His earlier fury hadn't left him and at this moment he was absolutely determined that Rose would get her Doctor back for good, and damn the consequences. Bending, he picked Rose up in her arms, and was alarmed at how light she was. Adjusting her, she turned to Jackie.

"I need some sort of distraction, so I can leave with her."

"Oh, don't worry!" Jackie's eyes sparkled. "I'm good at creating drama. I'll let Mickey know what's going on."

Jack stood with Rose in his arms as Jackie left the room. Five seconds later, he heard a blood – curdling wail from down the hall.

"OH MY GOD THERES A THING IN THE TOILET! SOMEONE, QUICK! IT'S GOT...UM...FANGS AND…FUR!"

People began running towards the source of the noise. In all the chaos, Jack grabbed Jeff by the arm and easily slipped down the corridor and past the abandoned reception desk. Only when they were safely out of the Medical Ward did he slow down and turn to Jeff.

"Ok. Show me what to do. And don't even think about arguing."

Jeff glared at him, and led the way.

"Almost there Rose." Jack whispered in her ear. "Just hang in there."

----------------------

Jeff was striding ahead of the couple. Jack couldn't see the smile that crossed his face as he reached into his pocket and discreetly pulled out a wristwatch. And Jack missed the low giggle he emitted as he pressed a button, normally used for setting the time. Worst of all, Jack was totally oblivious to the sensors, messages and signals flying through the air above them, giving information about him and Rose to people far, far away. The wrong people. Jeff smirked as he replaced the device. The damage was done.

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A/N: Once again, HUGE apologies for the crazy amount of time between updates! If anyone (even one person!) is still reading, reviews are LOVE. Seriously guys, really sorry and the next chapter honestly shouldn't be long.


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